Jinxed
by iheartkatamari
Summary: Based on an episode of the 2010 series with the cast of the 1986 series. The Pound Puppies help a cat who believes that she's nothing but bad luck.
1. Chapter 1:The Pound Puppies Meet Jinx

**This mostly adheres to the continuity of the first season (Holly owns the pound, Brighteyes is an adult dog rather than a puppy et al.), and, as in my previous fan fictions, Violet, Barkerville, Scrounger, Flack and Tubbs and Dabney Nabbit, the latter of whom now working for Katrina Stoneheart, are part of the cast. One of the Pound Purries, from the book "Kitten Companions" makes a brief appearance in this story as well. This story also has a few elements of the second season as well. The storyline is based off of an episode of the 2010 Pound Puppies series entitled, "Taboo" (The names Waggster and Mittens were also borrowed from the newer series). Please enjoy!(BTW, I have pictures of Jinx, Waggster, Mittens, and Stacey at my blog, the Keeper of the Fun blog!)**

It's a pleasant afternoon in New York City. The Pound Puppies are standing outside the front door of a house, with a small, plump, brown puppy with a white belly, white snout, and a _very _waggly tail, wearing a blue collar, and a small grey kitten with a white snout, white belly, and little white paws, wearing a pale pink collar with a heart-shaped tag and a pink ribbon on her tail, standing in front of them.

"Waggster, Mittens, welcome to your new hap-hap-happy home!" Cooler tells the pair.

"Oh boy!" Waggster says joyfully.

"This is _wonderful_!" Mittens says elatedly.

Cooler knocks on the door; the Pound Puppies all dash into some nearby bushes. Moments later, a little boy and girl answer the door, followed closely behind by their mother.

"Hello, who's th-oh my!" the mother says.

"A puppy!" the boy cries happily.

"A kitty!" his sister cries joyfully.

Waggster and Mittens scramble into the kids' arms, happily yipping and mewing and gleefully licking the kids' faces.

"Oh, they're so sweet! Mommy, can we keep them, please?" the kids say.

"Well, certainly, dears!"

Cooler smiles contentedly as he and the other Pound Puppies watch this happy scene from their leafy hiding place. "Honestly, folks, it sure does my heart good to see dogs and cats finding loving homes."

"It's always good to be able to do our bit for our fellow animals." Violet agrees, as the dogs disembark the bush and begin strolling back toward the pound.

Suddenly, they hear, "_MMEEEEOOOOOWWW!_" "_BARK! ROOF! GRRR!_"

"Sounds like another opportunity just turned up!" says a concerned Scrounger.

The Pound Puppies observe three large mean-looking dogs chasing a small cat in the road ahead of them. "Oh no! How will we save that poor li'l ol' kitty?" despairs Nose Marie.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan. Follow me!" Cooler says. He and the other Pound Puppies quickly dash behind a stack of empty boxes next to a nearby alleyway. Cooler sticks his head out. "Psst! Over here!" he whispers, waving his paw. The cat looks over at him, then dashes over behind the boxes with them. The mean dogs stop, look around for all of a minute, then traipse off.

Inside the Pound Puppies' hiding place, the cat stands on her hind legs with her back against the wall, gasping for breath. She's a small grayish-black cat with a white belly, white paws, a white-tipped tail, and green eyes. She has a wavy lock of hair on top of her head and wears a dark pink collar. "Thank you so much for saving me." she says.

"Think nothin' of it, Ma'am." Scrounger says. "We're the Pound Puppies, and we're all about helpin' out dogs 'n cats in need."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Jinx, and I'm all about bad luck."

"Bad luck?" Whopper echoes incredulously.

"Yeah. Bad things just seem to follow me wherever I go. For example, those dogs were chasing me because I was climbing over a garbage can and it fell on top of them. It's not such a big deal, really! It's like having fleas: it's the kind of thing you learn to live with."

"Oh, there's no such thing as bad luck." says Cooler. No sooner has he said this, however, when a bucket falls off of one of the boxes and beans him on the head. *_BONK._*

"See? Bad luck." Jinx says.

"Oh no, these kind of things just happen." the white dog rubs his head.

"Yeah," Whopper says. "Cooler has buckets fall on him all the time. Like, there was this one time he had so many buckets fall on him he looked like the Michelin bucket man-if they sold buckets that is, yeah. And there was this other time that-_mmmph_!"

Whopper's fabrication is cut short by Nose Marie quickly covering his mouth with her paw. "Y'all gonna have t'excuse Whopper, Hon. He's a bit of a bucket-_mouth._" Jinx just stares oddly.

"Don't worry about it, Jinxy." Brighteyes says. "Bad luck isn't real." No sooner has she said this, when she takes a step to the right, slips on a banana peel and falls _SMACK _on her nose.

"See? More bad luck." Jinx says.

"Oh, there's nothing to it, these alleys are full of garbage." the yellow lab rubs her nose as she slowly climbs to her feet.

"There's really no point in denying it, it is what it is. I've never even had a home of my own, because every time someone thinks they might like me, my bad luck ruins everything." a sad look crosses the black cat's face.

"Well, there'll certainly be plenty of good luck in store for you, Dear. Please come along with us to Holly's Puppy Pound; Holly will help us find you a wonderful home in no time." Violet says consolingly.

"Mmn. I sure hope so." a hesitant Jinx replies.

As the group sets off back in the direction of the pound, someone pours a bucket of water from a window above, which drenches Cooler. _SPLASH! _ "Ahh, not to worry," Cooler says. "I was planning to wash this jacket anyway." Shortly thereafter, a garbage truck drives by, hits a bump, and dumps garbage all over Cooler. Cooler then walks back beneath the window.

"Uhm, Cooler, what might you be doing?" Barkerville asks.

"Hoping someone dumps another bucket of water."


	2. Chapter 2:With a Little Bit of Luck

In the washroom of Holly's Puppy Pound, Holly Trueblood, manager of the pound and owner of the Pound Puppies, crouches next to a large, wooden tub where she's giving Jinx a bath. "Could you hand me that box of bubble bath, please, Nose Marie?"

"Certainly, Hon." the bloodhound hands Holly a small yellow box with the words "PUPPY POWDER" written on the front.

"It's really nice of you all to try to help me, but I'm afraid it's just no use." the little cat says dolefully. "Bad luck isn't something you can just wash away with soap and water."

"Now Honey Child," Nose Marie says, as she combs Jinx's hair. "Th' only bad luck y'all got is that li'l ol' hairstyle, an' thar ain't much can be done 'bout that."

"Today's Adoption Day at the pound." Holly notes. "I'm sure someone will give you a loving home."

"Ooh, that re-minds me," Nose Marie says. "Ah better check on them-thar cookies ah baked fer Adoption Day." She then hurries into the kitchen.

"It's not even so much that I mind being bad luck, I just wanted to warn you all in advance, so you don't get your hopes up. A lot of dogs and cats have tried, and a lot of dogs and cats have failed."

"Well, we're not going to fail, we'll give it our all to find you a hap-hap-happy home!" says Cooler, as he walks into the washroom.

Brighteyes stares at him. "Uh, Cooler, there's paint on the back of your jacket."

"There is?" the white dog looks over his shoulder. "Oh, why so there is! Must be from that park bench I sat on. Well…at least it wasn't a fire hydrant!" Cooler punctuates his sentence with a chuckle.

At that very moment, Nose Marie comes into the room holding a small plate of butter(Which she had been using to make the cookies) and sits it on a nearby table. Cooler removes his jacket, picks what he presumes to be a bar of soap up off of the floor, and starts scrubbing his jacket with it. Unbeknownst to him, though, what he's actually picked up is the butter(which somehow got moved over there!) and ends up spreading butter all over his jacket. Cooler stops and sniffs the air. "Hmm. I smell popcorn." he says, before looking down at his jacket and observing what's happened.

"Land sakes, how'd that butter get all th' way over thar?" a perplexed Nose Marie walks over to Cooler; Scrounger joins her.

"Oops. My bad." Jinx says.

"Ah, no, this isn't bad luck." Cooler says. "I've always wanted my jacket to have a rich, buttery sheen."

"Don't fret, M'dear," Barkerville says, upon entering the room. "All these things that have happened have just been coincidence-_WHOOOOAAA!_" The English bulldog's sentence ends in a yell as he slips on a bar of soap and goes flying into the tub, drenching Scrounger and Nose Marie.

"Coincidence, eh?" Scrounger says cynically.

"A coincidence that ruined mah perm." Nose Marie says dolefully, her one long curlicue of hair now hanging in her eyes.

The Pound Puppies, with Jinx following closely behind, make their way toward the yard(where the adoptions will take place); on their way, they pass Dabney Nabbit, the dogcatcher's office. Jinx stops in the doorway, observing Nabbit sleeping at his desk with his feet propped up on the desk and his hands folded on top of his fat belly.

"Who's that?" the black cat inquires.

"Oh, that's just Dabney Nabbit, the dogcatcher." Scrounger replies.

Nabbit snores, and begins talking in his sleep. "_Snore_…I'm the world's greatest bowler…"(Nabbit, you see, was a very avid, and pretty good bowler.) The dogcatcher climbs to his feet and begins tiptoeing back and forth in his sleep, swinging his arm, as if rolling a bowling ball. "Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!"

Jinx turns to Scrounger with an odd look on her face. "This is actually pretty normal behavior for him." the yellow basset hound says.

The only thing Nabbit actually manages to strike, however, is his toe, when he accidentally kicks his bowling ball, which is lying on the floor nearby. The dogcatcher wakes up with a start, and hops around frantically, clutching his sore toe. "Ooh! Ow! Ohh!" Nabbit squeals; as he's hopping about, he jostles a nearby shelf over, sending its contents toppling out, including Nabbit's dogcatcher's net, which ends up on his head. "Oh no, oh no, I've been caught! My worst nightmares have come _true_!"

Jinx turns to Scrounger again with another odd look on her face. "Nabbit has recurring nightmares about giant canine dogcatchers chasing him. Nose Marie figures that he just needs a vacation, but the day Katrina Stoneheart pays him enough for one 'a _those _is the day I audition for th' next _Cats vs. Dogs_ sequel." Scrounger says.

"Did anyone ever actually go to see _Cats vs. Dogs_?" Brighteyes muses.

Nabbit climbs to his feet and hops about, with the net still on his head. He really should have been watching where he was going, because he then ended up stepping in his wastebasket(which was empty-in fact, it was the only thing in the room _not _filled with garbage!), tripping, and falling on his bum.

"Ohmigosh," says Jinx, with an appalled look on her face. "_Now _I've done it!"

"Oh, no, you shouldn't blame yourself," Cooler says consolingly. "Nabbit's room is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Quite frankly, I'm surprised something like this didn't happen sooner." Violet adds.

"Of all the lousy rotten situations." Nabbit growls, as he slowly climbs to his feet and removes the net from his head (but forgets to remove the wastebasket from his foot). "The boss ain't payin' me enough to do this job. Something oughta be done about this!" And with that, he storms out the front door.

Nabbit had always been a bit of a grump, but this situation had put him in a particularly foul mood. He storms off, grumbling and grousing all the way("No good lousy dogs and bad luck cats…"), up the hill toward the mansion where Holly's wicked aunt Katrina Stoneheart lives and goes around the back way.


	3. Chapter 3:Just Their Luck

Inside the mansion, Katrina's two henchmen Flack and Tubbs are in the kitchen, making a huge sandwich.

"Duh, Flack, why're we doin' dis, again?"

"Yeesh, ya forgot a'ready? Yer brain must be emptier than our stomachs! Da boss lady ain't been payin' us much lately, an' our cupboards are bare…"

"…And so da poor dognappers had _none_." Tubbs dolefully rubs his belly.

"Exactly! So's now we's gotta rob from da rich, an' give to da poor…'cept _we're _da poor."

"Ooh, jus' like Robin Hood...kinda…sorta…"

"Now, spread some mustard on da bread whilst I put da sandwich together."

"Sure thing, Flack."

Flack then goes about piling various ingredients onto the sandwich. "Now lessee here, we got cheese, got lunchmeat, salami, baloney, ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, onions…" He picks up a bizarre looking vegetable. "Eh, dunno what dis is, but it's _in_!" He stuffs it into the sandwich.

Tubbs squeezes the mustard bottle, but nothing comes out. "Duh, hey Flack, da mustard bottle ain't woikin'."

"Ahh, put some muscle into it!"

Tubbs squeezes the bottle harder and harder. Suddenly, Nabbit bursts through the door, which startles Tubbs into squeezing a question mark of mustard on the front of Flack's sweater.

"Ooh," the fat dognapper says dolefully. "Sorry 'bout dat."

"Ah, ain't no problem, cousin," Flack takes the mustard bottle from him. "Coulda' happened ta anyone."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah." Flack then squirts a mustard mustache on Tubbs' face.

"So ya wanna play rough, do ya?" Tubbs grabs the bottle and squirts a bunch of mustard on top of Flack's head. Flack then grabs the bottle back and squirts a bunch of mustard on the back of Tubbs' coat.

Nabbit shoots a disgusted look at them. "Say, I don't suppose that when you two dopes are finished goofing around that you might be able to tell me where the boss is?"

"Eh, she's in da livin' room." Flack replies.

"Good, 'cause I got a _real beef_!"

"Duh, can we have if for da sandwich?" Tubbs inquires.

"Oh, never mind." Nabbit grumbles, as he trudges toward the door to the living room(which was adjacent to the kitchen).

As he's leaving, Tubbs looks down at Nabbit's foot. "Duh, hey Nabbit, y'got a wastebasket on your foot."

"I _KNOW_!" the dogcatcher seethes. _"_I _LIKE IT_!"

"Huh," Tubbs muses. "Guess dat must be one a'them new fashions, like from Paris or London or somethin'."

"Or maybe he's nuttier than da peanut vendor at da circus." Flack replies.

Shortly thereafter, the two dognappers hear Nabbit talking with Katrina in the next room. Curiosity gradually gets the better of them, so they push the door open a crack and look to see what's happening, thus observing Katrina sitting at a small table, with Nabbit standing on the other side. Katrina's daughter, Brattina stands nearby, holding Katrina's pet, Catgut, in her arms.

"I know you hired me to nab animals, boss, but I got a good mind to let this one go. This cat's nothing but bad luck!"

Flack is unconcerned by this. "Bad luck? Aw, dere ain't no such thing!"

Tubbs, however, has a much different reaction. "B-b-bad luck? *_GULP._*"

"Let it go? Nonsense, Nabbit, we can't by _any means _let this cat go!" A sly smirk crosses Katrina's lips. "Why, imagine how very useful this cat could be to us. She could give bad luck to anyone who gets in our way, especially that miserable Holly and her sniveling puppies!"

"_Splendid _idea, Mommie Dearest!" Brattina agrees. A much less enthused Catgut gives a disdainful hiss. Clearly, he felt that he was about to be replaced.

"Now," Katrina says. "I want you to go fetch me that cat now."

An uncertain look crosses Nabbit's face. "Go get that cat? You certainly don't mean for _me _to do it, boss?"

"Gosh, no," Brattina sneers sarcastically. "She means the _other _dogcatcher."

"Buh-b-b-but, what about the, *_GULP_*, bad luck?"

"Oh what are _you _afraid of?" Katrina scowls.

"Yeah," Brattina adds. "You look like a walking waste salvage already. What, are you afraid you'll fall in a puddle and come out clean?" Catgut meows and snickers nastily at this.

"Ugh, don't even joke." Nabbit mumbles, as he trudges off toward the kitchen again.

The two dognappers are still hiding behind the door, eavesdropping. Suddenly, Nabbit barges through the door, slamming them both in the face. *_WHACK!_*

Nabbit stands in front of them with his hands on his hips(or should we say _lack _of hips)."All right, you two dorks, listen up!" Flack and Tubbs turn and face him, still rubbing their sore noses.

"Now, the boss wants me to nab that bad luck cat for her, which, for obvious reasons I don't particularly _want _to do, but she insists. Having said that, I'm going to need someone to go with me for protection, so I nominate you guys!"

"Duh, sorry, Nabbit, but we can't g-_OOMPH!_" Tubbs is cut off sharply by Flack stuffing his scarf in his mouth.

"Eh, sure, Nabbit, we'll do it." Flack replies.

"Flack are you serious?" Tubbs whispers. "What about da bad luck?"

"Aww, Tubbs, there ain't no such thing. Ya's too stupersti-uh, stupidsti-aw, whaddaya 'fraid of?!" Nabbit and the two dognappers then traipse out the door.


	4. Chapter 4:Adoption Day is Here Again

A large group of dogs and cats, one of such being Jinx, are gathered in the yard for Adoption Day. Brighteyes, who's standing next to her, observes a large number of people walking through the pound's front gates. "Wow, we've sure got a big crowd today; I'm positive that you'll find a super-nifty owner in no time!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," the little cat says doubtfully, with her head down. "No one's going to want to adopt a walking bad luck charm."

"Oh, no reason to think that way, Jinxy. You need to look on the bright side. Why I'm certain that you'll soon have a new peachy-keen home with whipped cream and a strawberry on top!"

Jinx scratches her head. "Uhm, will I be living in it, or eating it?"

Holly and the Pound Puppies are so busy with this that they don't hear Nabbit and the two dognappers sneaking around outside the fence. "All right, we'll wait 'till all the people leave, then nab the cat." Nabbit says.

"Sure thing." Flack replies. As he's sneaking along, Flack looks over his shoulder and notices Tubbs wearing a concerned look on his face. He shoots his associate an indignant look(Well, as far as anyone could tell, anyway-his hat always covers his eyes). "And what's botherin' _you_?"

"Oh I'm jus' scared a' all da bad luck!"

"Tubbs," the skinny dognapper replies matter-of-factly. "Y'got a cereal box stuck on yer head at breakfast dis morning, y'turned da hot water up to high in da shower an' got boiled like a lobster, ya put yer pants on backwards, an' ya knocked an entire stack a' cans down at da grocery store. In _yer _case, bad luck'd be an _improvement_!"

"Gee, thanks, Flack, I fell a whole lot better."

"Simple mind, simple solution." Flack mumbles under his breath.

Back at the pound, Jinx observes people all around her scooping up dogs and cats; a sad look crosses her face. Suddenly, she hears, "Ohmigosh! Check it out!" The little black cat turns around to see a tall, skinny teenage girl with long, black hair in a ponytail, wearing a pink t-shirt, purple jeans, and glittery purple sandals, standing over her.

"I have _totally _never seen a cat like her before!" The girl gently strokes Jinx's back; the little cat gives a long, contented purr. "Oh, aren't you sweet." The girl then turns to Holly. "Uhm, Hi, my name's Stacie, and I'd like to adopt this kitty."

"Well, certainly."

"That cat is just so _totally _perfect! Oh wait'll the guys at school hear about her! Oh say, uh, speaking of which, I gotta go to school right now, so could you, like, keep her for me until I get back, please?"

"Sure!"

Jinx's face breaks into a wide smile. "See?" Brighteyes says. "I knew you'd find a nice owner."

Stacie traipses off through the pound's front gate. She calls over her shoulder, "Please put a little sign on the gate, Holly, I don't want anyone taking that cat while I'm gon-_WHOOOOOOOA!_" Her sentence ends in a yell as she trips on a curb and falls in a mud puddle. The Pound Puppies and Jinx all look on in shock.

Holly runs up to her. "Stacie, are you okay?"

"Oh, uh, sure, I'm fine." the teenage girl lifts herself out of the mud puddle and starts walking off again. "It's no prob-_OOMPH_!" an apple from a nearby tree falls on her head. _SPLAT!_ Stacey keeps walking. "I'm fine, it's totally no dea-_UGH_!" a passing car kicks up a tsunami of gravel, which covers her. "I-I'm-I'm, like, okay, really!"

Jinx looks on sadly as Stacie leaves. "Never seen it to fail. Every time someone thinks they might like me. I'm nothing but a bad luck accident waiting to happen." Her shoulders slump.

"Oh, that's not so, Jinxy," Brighteyes says consolingly. "Things like this happen all the time."

Howler walks up to Jinx. "Yeah, after all, there's a pup for every person, and a person for every pup, or, uh, kitty. I'm sure that somewhere out there is a loving owner waiting just for you. In fact…" he muses for a second. "I may have just the thing to find them! Please, come with me, Jinx."

Jinx follows Howler into the pound with the others following close behind. Meanwhile, Whopper stands by the fence, drinking a can of soda. He tosses the empty can over the fence, upon which hearing, _Bink! OW! _

A curious Whopper stares over his shoulder. "Huh?" then dismisses the sound, and walks back toward the pound. "Mm. Must be mice or something."

Behind the fence, Tubbs rubs his head. "Ooh, that smarted me!"

"Gee, if dat smarted ya's, I shoulda' dropped a whole box a' soda on yer head years ago!" Flack snaps. "Now come on, we gotta nab dat cat!"

The dognappers continue to sneak along, when suddenly, a street cleaner drives by, drenching them and knocking them off their feet.

Flack splutters, "_Pteww, _what gives here?"

"Yeah, we a'ready had our baths this month!" Tubbs exclaims.

Flack looks over his shoulder at Nabbit, who's perfectly dry. "Hey, how come we got soaked while da guy what smells like a compost heap stays dry?!"

"Duh, maybe water knows when it's licked."

"Well, dat's a very astute assumption, Tubbs."

"Y'mean I said sumthin' smart?"

Flack picks up a soda can lying on the ground. "Here, have another soda can, yer a few quarts low." He tosses it at Tubbs' head. _Bink._

The two dognappers slowly climb to their feet; as Tubbs stands up, he notices a gaping hole in the back of his pants. "Oh no, oh no," he panics. "_More _bad luck!"

"Ah, no, Tubbs," Flack replies. "Remember da time ya bent over ta pick up a penny 'n ripped yer pants, and da time ya ripped yer pants climbing over dat chain link fence in front'a da junk yard, and then dat junkyard dog ripped yer pants clean off as you was climbin' back out?"

"Yeah…"

"So, ya see, ya ain't got bad luck, ya jus' got bad pants!"

"I s'pose dat makes sense." Tubbs mumbles to himself.

"Why the boss ever hired those two dopes, I may never know." Nabbit grumbles.


	5. Chapter 5:The PetMatcher 2000

Meanwhile, the Pound Puppies and Jinx are gathered in Howler's laboratory. Howler stands in front of a large, odd-looking purple machine with a large screen, a keyboard, and a large, bugle-like mouthpiece sticking out of the side. "This little gadget of mine is the PetMatcher 2000. It has a data base of over a million potential pet owners."

"Ooh, how does it work?" an intrigued Jinx inquires.

"Simple. All a pet has to do is speak into the mouthpiece and tell the PetMatcher 2000 what kind of owner they're looking for, and the PetMatcher will search the database for their perfect match." He gestures toward the mouthpiece. "Now, come ahead, Jinxy, and tell the PetMatcher what kind of owner you'd like most."

"Well, uhm, let's see," an unsure Jinx begins. "Uh, one man or woman, or boy or girl, or, well, whatever other kind of owner there is, who'd like a small, friendly, well-mannered cat with no fleas, who doesn't scratch or shed, and has a tendency to ruin everything she touches."

"Strike that last part, and I think we've got a match." Cooler says.

Howler presses a large red button marked "SEND". Suddenly, the machine starts crackling, smoking, and rattling. "O-oh no, it's malfunctioning!" Howler frantically pushes all the machines buttons.

"Look out!" Cooler exclaims.

"It's gonna _blow_!" Scrounger yells.

All of the Pound Puppies(save for Howler!) and Jinx rush into the next room and hide behind boxes just as a loud explosion emanates from Howler's lab. **BWA-BOOOOOOOOOM!**

Cooler looks up from his hiding place. "Howler, are you okay?"

A frazzled Howler crawls from the lab. "Thought…sure…I…had…all…the… bugs…worked…out…" The brown dog collapses to the ground in a daze.

Whopper rushes up to him. "Quick, Howler, how many fingers am I holding up?" The little puppy holds up three fingers.

"Uhm, let's see, five thousand, three hundred and-awoo-oo-oo-ninety-two."

Jinx sadly hangs her head.

While this is going on, Nabbit and the two dognappers continue sneaking around the fence until they arrive at the back of the pound. "Hey, I jus' thoughta' a plan," Flack remarks, motioning toward a window. "One a' us could climb in dat window 'n nab dat cat!"

"Mmn, I don't know, looks pretty high." Nabbit muses.

"Ah, not a problem," Flack motions toward several trash cans just below the window. "We'll jus' climb up usin' these!" He climbs up on top of one to prove his point.

"Are you sure they're sturdy enough?" a skeptical Nabbit inquires.

"Sure," Flack climbs back down. "If it can hold me, it oughta' hold you easy!"

"If you're sure…" Nabbit climbs up on the trash can and begins to reach for the windowsill when…

**BWA-BOOOOOOOOOM!**

The loud blast emanating from inside the building startles the dogcatcher, who then loses his footing, slips, and topples to the ground with the trash can coming crashing down on his head.

Nabbit runs around in circles with the trash can stuck on his head. "Help! Help! I'm stuck!" He stops short and turns toward the astonished Flack and Tubbs. "Well, don't just stand there looking stupid, get me _out_!"

"Gee, he's stuck in dere pretty good." Tubbs says.

"Yeah," Flack muses. "Gotta figger some way t'get him out…" The skinny dognapper scouts the yard; his gaze eventually stops on several large fallen tree branches lying on the ground. "Hey! I got it! We'll use these sticks ta pound on da sides of da can 'n loosen him up!"

"Duh, great idea, Flack!"

The dognappers each grab a stick and begin banging on the right and left side of the can. "H-h-hey, w-w-what are y-y-you two d-d-dopes doing? Quit it!" a very shaken-up Nabbit growls.

"Hmm, dat didn't woik." Tubbs says.

"Eh, gotta find somethin' else." Flack spots a garden hose out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, dat oughta woik!"

Tubbs picks up the end of the hose and starts whacking the can with it. "Use da water, void brain!" Flack snaps.

"Duh, oh yeah, da water!" Tubbs sticks the end of the hose under the edge of the can and turns the water on. "_Glug-splutter-_what are you-_ugh_-doing, you-_glargle_-morons?!" Nabbit gurgles.

"Huh. Dat didn't woik neither." Flack walks over and turns the water off(much to Nabbit's delight).

"Yeah," Tubbs replies. "Dere mus' be sumthin' else dat'll woik."

Suddenly, Flack spots a bar of soap lying on the ground. "Ah, dis'll be poifect, we'll get him out fer sure now!"

He picks up the bar of soap and rubs it all around the sides of the can. Tubbs then yanks on the can and pulls it off easily. *_POP!_*

"Finally!" the big-bellied dogcatcher grumbles, rubbing his neck. "It wasn't enough to get stuck in a trashcan, I also get clobbered, soaked, and greased by a couple of nitwits! Ooh, I can't believe the luck I've been havin'…"

"Please," Flack responds indignantly. "Y'oughta _consider_ y'self lucky! Dat soap 'n water shoulda done ya some good!"


	6. Chapter 6:That's Why They Call Me Jinx

Jinx sits sadly on the front step of the pound with her chin in her paws. "Gosh, now I've _really _done it…"

"Oh, y'all oughtn't t'blame yourself, Sugar." Nose Marie says consolingly.

"Yeah," Scrounger adds. "Howler's inventions blow up all the time."

"Hey, I resemble that remark!" Howler replies indignantly.

"Everywhere I go, it's been the same story," the little cat says sadly. "Dogs and cats start out thinking they can help me, but sooner or later, they realize the truth. I'm just one hundred percent pure bad luck."

"Oh, that's not so, M'dear." Barkerville replies.

"Yeah," Brighteyes adds. "Bad stuff happens to everyone sometimes."

"Not like it does to me. Ever since I was a little kitten, I've always somehow messed things up for everyone. I remember this one morning my brothers and sisters were having a big saucer of milk for breakfast, and I came running up and knocked the whole saucer over on them. And there was another time when we were all playing with balls of yarn, and I accidentally tossed mine too high in the air and it came unraveled, covering my brothers and sisters with yarn. There was another time, also, when we were all chasing after a wind-up mouse, and I caught up with it and broke it. I just never seemed to do anything right; the other cats just didn't want to be around me. They told me that I was nothing but bad luck, and that's why they called me Jinx."

"Oh, that's so sad!" Brighteyes wipes a tear.

Nose Marie walks up to the little cat and consolingly pats her on the shoulder. "Don't listen t'them, Sugar Dumplin'. Bad luck ain't nothin' but superstition."

"But they're right, really! I mean, have any of you ever been chased by a swarm of angry bees?"

"Uhm, no." Barkerville replies.

"Gotten stuck in a drainage pipe?"

"Uh, no." Violet replies.

"Had the entire contents of a garbage truck dump on you?"

"Well…" Scrounger replies.

"Well, I've had all of that happen to me, and more!"

"Yeah, but I had a dinosaur chase me once!" Whopper pipes up. "Yeah, I built a time machine, and I traveled back a hundred, no, a thousand, no, no, _twenty-thousand _years into the past! Yeah, and I was wandering through this prehistoric jungle when I heard this loud roar! The next thing you knew, a T. Rex came charging through the trees and I was forced to run for my life!"

"Whopper," Violet says seriously. "Haven't we all told you a million times not to exaggerate?"

"Uhm, say, by the way, Whopper," Howler inquires. "Where did you get so many fingers?" The little puppy responds with an odd look.

"I know a lot of bad things have been happening today, Jinxy, but they really weren't your fault. In fact…" Cooler muses for a second. "I think I know the perfect way to prove it! Follow me, please." He then leads Jinx back into the pound with the others following close behind.

After they've gone inside, Nabbit peeks around the corner of the building. "The coast is clear, C'mon!" He and the two dognappers then traipse through the front door.

The three of them sneak through the hallways. "Hmm," Flack muses. "Now where could them mutts 'n dat kitty cat have gone?"

At that moment, Tubbs spies a light coming from one of the doorways. "Duh, hey look! I bet she's in dere!"

"Ah, brilliant, Tubbs! Let's go get 'em!" the dognappers begin running off.

"Wait!" Nabbit exclaims. The dognappers screech to a halt. "There's a ladder up against that wall over there." Nabbit continues.

"So?" a perplexed Flack replies.

"So, it's bad luck to walk under a ladder."

"Bad luck? Yeesh! Why's everybody gotta be so stupersti-uh, stupidsti-aw, there ain't no such thing!"

"Duh, hey, hows'about I jus' _move_ da ladder?" Tubbs offers.

"Ah, clever idea," Flack replies. "Ye're a very intelligent imbecil!"

"Gee, thanks."

Tubbs picks up the ladder and promptly drops it on Flack's foot. "Ooh! Ouch! Ooh!" the skinny dognapper squeals. He pushes the ladder away, and it gets stuck around Tubbs' neck.

Nabbit walks up to the dognappers. "So, did'ja move that ladder yet?"

"Duh, yeah." Tubbs quickly whips around as he says this and accidentally whacks Nabbit with the end of the ladder, sending him flying into a nearby supply closet.

Flack and Tubbs hurry over to the supply closet and find the dogcatcher sprawled on the floor with a bucket stuck on his head. "Not again…" Nabbit groans in a muffled voice.

Flack turns to Tubbs. "Looks like we's gonna need da soap again."


	7. Chapter 7:Bad Luck Isn't Real

The Pound Puppies and Jinx all gather in the kitchen. "You see, Jinx," Cooler says. "We'll just do some tests to prove once and for all that bad luck isn't real."

"Mmn. I wonder if they'll work."

"Sure they will!" Brighteyes responds optimistically. She turns to Whopper. "Whopper, will you do the honors, please?"

"Sure!" the little puppy climbs up on a step stool next to a nearby counter, with a salt shaker on top of it.

"Uhm, Whopper, what are you doing?" Jinx inquires.

"I'm gonna spill the salt." He knocks the salt shaker over. "See? Nothing bad hap-" Whopper's cut off sharply as an orange falls out of an overhead cupboard and splats on his head.

"See?" Jinx says.

"Well, here," Scrounger's holding an umbrella in one paw. He opens it up. "See, I just opened an umbrella in the house, and I don't see any bad luck, do you?" Just as he's closing the umbrella back up, an orange falls out of another overhead shelf and splats on his head.

"There's no use denying it, it's simply bad luck." Jinx says.

"I'll say it is," Scrounger grumbles. "For whoever put all those oranges on the shelves."

"You know," Cooler muses. "I think I know the perfect way to test this. Follow me, everyone."

The Pound Puppies and Jinx all traipse out into the yard, where they meet up with Boo, one of the Pound Purries. She's a small black cat with a tuft of curly light blonde hair on top of her head. She wears a light blue dress with a light and dark blue striped skirt, and a pink ribbon around her neck.

The Pound Puppies and Jinx all line up in a straight line. "All right, Boo," Cooler says. "Do your stuff!"

"Sure thing." Boo walks in front of each of them; as she gets to the end of the line, she stops and says, "Boo!" (This routine was one that Boo would use to scare off superstitious antagonists.)

Jinx hesitates for second. "Wow. Nothing bad happened! Maybe bad luck really isn't real after all."

"Quite indeed, M'dear." Barkerville replies.

The Pound Puppies and Jinx then regroup and start heading back into the pound; just before they reach the door, a cascade of acorns falls from a nearby tree, sending them all slipping and sliding.

"I knew it. I just knew something bad was going to happen." Jinx says dolefully.

"Very strange," a perplexed Boo muses. "That trick's never actually _worked _before."

"We're not giving up," Cooler says seriously as he and the others climb to their feet. "There are plenty of other ways to disprove bad luck. Follow me, everyone." The dogs and Jinx all traipse through the front gate, out of the pound.

From inside the building, Flack peeks through a window. "Look, youse guys! There go them mutts wit' dat kitty cat! Let's follow 'em."

The two dognappers race out the front door with Nabbit following them closely behind. Unfortunately for him, Flack wasn't looking where he was going and slipped on a bar of soap(the same one they'd used earlier to free Nabbit from the trash can) that was lying in the middle of the path. "_WHOOOOOA!_"the skinny dognapper yells as he flies out into the street.

Tubbs covers his eyes as a loud _HONK! HONK! SCREEEEEECH! CRASH! _is heard. "Ooh! I can't not even watch!" The fat dognapper slowly uncovers his eyes, upon which observing a huge pile-up of cars in the middle of the street, with Flack lying on the hood of one.

"Hey, watch where ya's goin', ya maniac!" Flack snaps at the seemingly short driver. "Where'd ya get ya's license, from da back of a cereal box?"

The driver, who turns out to be huge and muscular, disembarks the car and stands in front of him. "You lookin' for trouble, punk?"

"Ah, uh, no, _no_, there, uh, wuz a smudge on da hood a' yer car 'n I wuz jus', uh, wipin' it off. Yeah, dat's it." the skinny dognapper rubs the hood with his elbow.

Flack quickly climbs down and rushes back over to the sidewalk where Tubbs and Nabbit are standing. "Duh, don't worry, Flack," Tubbs says. "If we hurry, we should still be able ta catch up ta dat cat."

"Y'know," Nabbit muses. "That's right. That's a _cat _we're after, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah." Flack doesn't see the connection.

"And I'm a _dog_catcher, right?"

"Uh huh." Tubbs replies.

"Well then, that pretty much lets me off the hook! I'm going back home where it's lucky. See ya later." the dogcatcher then traipses off.

"Ahh, who needs him?" Flack scoffs indignantly. "His bad luck talk wuz jus' bringin' us down anyways."

"Not t'mention his smell." Tubbs adds.

"We'll nab dat cat all by ourselves, I mean, how hard could it be ta dognap a cat-well, youse know what I mean."

"Duh, yeah. We'll jus' hafta' put our best foot forward-_WHOOOOOA!_" Tubbs takes a step forward and slips on the soap; he goes fling into the air and lands on Flack.

"Flack? Duh, hey Flack, where'd'ja go?"

"Oof, get offa' me, you hippopotamus." the skinny dognapper snarls in a muffled voice.


	8. Chapter 8:I Smell TWO rats!

Meanwhile, the Pound Puppies and Jinx stand in an alleyway in the middle of town, next to a sidewalk. Cooler turns to Whopper and Brighteyes. "Ready, guys?"

"Ready!" Whopper and Brighteyes walk out into the middle of the sidewalk and begin hopping from crack to crack.

"Don't do it, you guys!" Jinx exclaims.

"Aw, don't worry, Jinxy, there's no harm." Whopper says. No sooner do he and Brighteyes stop stepping on the cracks, however, than a street sweeper drives by, dredging up a massive cloud of dust that covers them all.

Shortly thereafter, two oranges fall out of nowhere and splat on Whopper and Brighteyes' heads. _Where do those oranges keep coming from? _Whopper thinks.

"Say, I've got an idea." Howler says. He walks down the alley and comes to a ladder. "I'll just walk under this ladder."

Jinx runs up to him. "No, Howler! It's too dangerous!"

"Oh, don't be concerned, Jinxy, there's no danger at all." Howler walks under the ladder, upon which a bucket of purple paint falls from the top of the ladder and lands on Jinx's head. "Uhm, of course, I could be wrong."

Jinx runs around in circles. "Help! Help! Get it off me! Get it off me!" Howler helps pull the bucket off of her head. Just then, a bag of flower falls on his head.

"Now, where could that have come from?" Whopper wonders.

"Guess they ran out of oranges." Scrounger replies.

Nose Marie peeks around the corner. "Ooh, ah think ah just got an idea fer th' perfect way t'disprove bad luck. Foller me, ever'body!"

The dogs and Jinx follow Nose Marie to a shop with a large array of mirrors outside of it. Nose Marie picks up a hammer lying on the ground. "Now, ah'm jus' gonna break a few a' these."

Jinx runs up to her and grabs the other end of the hammer. "Nose Marie, don't! You _don't_ want to mess with mirrors!"

The bloodhound pulls from the other end. "Let go, Hon'!"

Jinx pulls harder. "I'll let go when you let go!"

They tug the hammer back and forth until Jinx's grip loosens, sending her careening backwards into a mirror. The little cat cringes as the mirror smashes and tips into the one behind it, causing them all to smash into each other like large glass dominoes. Two of the three mirrors hanging on the store's outer walls also smash, and the last one falls off and rolls across the sidewalk until it stops at the Pound Puppies' feet, upon which it smashes.

Jinx sniffles, then collapses to the ground sobbing.

Nose Marie walks up to her. "We're sorry, Hon', we was all jus' tryin' ta help."

"Well, don't, okay?" an upset Jinx replies. "I know you're all trying to do a nice thing, but you don't understand! It's not just bad luck, I'm a _LOSER_! A zero, I'm the girl everyone wants to stay away from. I know you want to help, but it's just no use, so it would really be in everyone's best interest to leave me alone like the loser I truly am." She then walks away, sadly hanging her head.

"Jinx, wait!" Brighteyes says.

"Don't go!" Scounger says.

The dogs then hurry off after her. Howler has a little trouble catching up. "Hey, wait for me, you guys!" Just then, he hears nasty laughter coming from behind a nearby fence. Curious, he peeks through the knothole, upon which observing Mayor Fist and his son Arnold, the town garbage man, standing in an alleyway, laughing.

"Heh, heh, we did it, Arnold!" the mayor guffaws rudely. "Now _no one's _going to take that rare cat." He holds up a poster of a cat that looks almost exactly like Jinx, save for being solid black and having no collar.

"Eh heh, excellent plan, Pop. We'll be so rich I can quit my job as a garbage man."

It had been a well known fact that Arnold had hated his job as a garbage man, and that he would do anything to be able to quit his job, no matter how dishonest the means.

"Worked like a charm, too," the mayor continues. "Want to knock an apple down? Just kick the tree. Want to soak two guys on the street? Just throw water. Dumping paint, breaking mirrors, switching soap with butter, knocking things off of shelves, messing with fancy electronics, it was all easy as pie. Now everyone thinks that cat is nothing but bad luck, and we'll collect the reward money easy."

"So, that's their scheme!" Howler whispers to himself.

At that moment, Violet and Whopper walk up to him. "Is there a problem, Howler?" Violet inquires.

"Yeah, _two _of them!" the brown dog motions toward the knothole. "Look!"

The white basset hound peeks through the knothole and observes the mayor and his son gloating nastily. "Why those fiends! They've been the ones making poor Jinx think that she's bad luck all this time!"

"We gotta tell Cooler and the others, awoo-oo-oo!"

"Ooh, wait'll I tell Jinxy about this!" Whopper then runs off to find her.


	9. Chapter 9:A Taste of Their Own Medicine

On a street corner far from there, Jinx sits alone on a park bench with her chin in her paws and tears streaming down her face. Whopper runs up to her. "Jinxy! Oh, I'm so glad I found you, there's something I really need to tell you!"

"Why are you wasting your time on a loser like me?"

"Come along with me, and I'll show you who the _real _losers are!"

A perplexed Jinx follows the little puppy back to the fence, where the other Pound Puppies are gathered. The little cat looks through the knothole. "So, you see," Cooler says. "_They're _the ones who've been causing all the so-called bad luck."

An amazed look crosses Jinx's face. "You mean…they were the ones causing all that bad stuff to happen?'

"Sure as puddin', Hon." Nose Marie replies.

"Then, that means…" a wide smile spreads across Jinx's face for the first time in a long time. "I'm not bad luck after all!"

"That's fer sure, Hon', and you also shorely ain't a loser neither." Jinx gives a contented sigh.

Cooler turns to Jinx. "So, would you like to help us give those two a taste of their own bad luck medicine?"

"Yeah!" a determined look crosses the black cat's face. "Oh, _yeah_!"

"Pound Puppies, let's start pounding!" Cooler exclaims.

Behind the fence, the mayor gloats, "Well, Arnold it looks like bad luck is turning out to be our_ good _luck." Suddenly, an orange hits him in the side of the head. _SPLAT!_

The mayor and Arnold whip around to see Cooler holding a bunch of oranges in one arm. "Yeah, well your luck's about to change!"

"You meddling mutt, you'll pay for this!" the mayor growls, as he and Arnold begin chasing after Cooler.

Cooler rushes under a windowsill. "Now, guys!" Upon this, Violet and Barkerville both pour bags of flour out of the windows, covering the two scoundrels with the white powder.

Arnold and the mayor cough and sputter. "Ready, guys?" Cooler calls.

"Ready!" Whopper and Brighteyes(the latter of whom is wearing a commando helmet), who are hiding around the corner, holding a couple of hoses, spray them with water, turning the flour covering them into a doughy substance.

"Ooh, we're going to make you sorry, you little pests!" Arnold snarls.

"Yeah, well, not as sorry as we'll make you!" Jinx dumps an armful acorns in Arnold's path, causing him to lose his footing and go flying into a nearby trash can.

"It's an ambush!" Mayor Fist exclaims fearfully. "I'm outta here!" He rushes off in the other direction, not noticing a bar of soap in his path, which he then slips on, and goes flying into the street. _HONK! HONK! SCREEEEEECH! CRASH! _

The mayor lands on the hood of a car(which, coincidentally, was the same one Flack had landed on earlier). "What's with all you maniacs landing on my car? I oughta sue for this!" the driver bellows.

"Well, it looks like _their _luck has just run out!" Jinx says confidently.

"Well put, M'dear." Barkerville replies.


	10. Chapter 10:Her Luck's Certainly Changed

The Pound Puppies and Jinx head back to the pound; Nose Marie notices that the little cat has a sad look on her face. "What's wrong, Pum'kin?"

"Well, I know I should be happier knowing that I'm not bad luck after all, it's just that…I've been Jinx, the bad luck cat for so long, I'm not sure who I really am anymore, or what I'm supposed to do."

"Well, Jinxy," Cooler replies. "Even though there's no such thing as good or bad luck, the one thing that I _do _know for sure is that things often work out in ways you haven't anticipated." Jinx looks doubtful.

Suddenly, Stacie, the teenage girl who had come by the pound earlier, pedals by on her bike. As she rounds a corner, one of the bike's tires pops. "Ohh, I can't believe this," she says sadly. "I must have the worst luck in the world."

Jinx's face lights up. "It's her! She's my perfect owner! If anyone can relate to how she's feeling right now, it's me."

Brighteyes smiles. "Well, I'd say that it looks like her luck's going to turn around too."

"Thanks, guys." Jinx runs up to Stacie, meowing happily, and rushes into her waiting arms.

"It's you! My totally perfect kitty!" Stacie gives the little cat a gentle hug and strokes her soft fur. "Oh, I'm, like, _so_ happy that I found you again! You are just the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me, so I'm gonna call you Lucky."

Lucky purrs contentedly and gently licks her new owner's face. From across the street, Cooler and the others give contented smiles. As Stacie and Lucky walk off, Lucky looks over her shoulder and gives the group a wink.

Violet sighs. "It truly is wonderful to see pets find their perfect owners."

"And it proves that there's no such thing as luck, good or bad." Cooler adds. Suddenly, an orange falls and splats on his head. "Well, that could've happened to anyone." The Pound Puppies all share a laugh.

From around a nearby corner, Flack and Tubbs watch this scene. "So…dat cat weren't bad luck after all?" Tubbs inquires.

"Kinda' looks dat way, don't it?"

"Well, then…what about all dat stuff what happened to us?"

"Aw, stuff like dat happens ta us all da time, it's nothin' new, really! C'mon, Tubbs, let's get back ta our hideout."

"Sure thing, Flack."

The two dognappers traipse off toward their van, which is parked further down the road. "Ya know," Flack muses. "I wonder why we ever had ta woik wit' dat Nabbit character. I mean, not only did he smell like a landfill, but he had _some_ kinda' muffin top!"

"Muffin top? I'd call it more of a _butter cake _top!" Tubbs replies, as he seats himself behind the steering wheel. "Haw, butter cake top, dat's a good one, think I'll write dat one down."

"_TUBBS, NO, NOT WHILE YER DRIVIN'!_" Flack yells, as the van skids wildly across the road. The van crashes into a fire hydrant, sending water spraying all over the place.

"Aw, would'ja looka' dat?" Tubbs says irritably. More bad luck."

"Don't start wit' dat bad luck again!"

**The end.**

Voice Cast

Cooler-Dan Gilvezan

Violet-Gail Matthius

Nose Marie-Peggy O'Hara

Howler-Wally Wigert

Brighteyes-Nancy Cartwright

Whopper/Boo-Veronica Taylor

Barkerville-Tom Kane

Scrounger-Gregg Berger

Jinx(Lucky)-Edie Mirman

Holly-Britt McKillip

Stacie/Waggster/Little girl-Tara Strong

Mittens/Kids' Mother-Kath Soucie

Katrina Stoneheart-Linda Gary

Brattina-Jennifer Hale

Catgut/Mayor Fist/Mean dogs-Frank Welker

Flack-Charlie Adler

Tubbs-Steven Christopher Parker

Dabney Nabbit/Guy in car-Jeff Bennett

Arnold Fist-Ted Lewis

Little boy-E.G. Daily


End file.
